For five days, the armed forces of Togo, Benin and Nigeria will carry out joint patrols. This is the 3rd edition of the operation “Safe Domain.”
On Thursday, August 8, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and its Zone E Multinational Maritime Coordination Center CMMC) launched Operation Safe Domain III, a major initiative to ensure security on the high seas in the region.
This operation follows the previous editions of Safe Domain I in 2021 and Safe Domain II in 2023. This time, it brings together Togo, Benin and Nigeria, three countries in Zone E, for joint maritime patrols from August 5 to 9, 2024.
According to Commodore Aniedi Aniedu Iboki, director of the CMMC Zone E, this operation is part of the integrated maritime strategy adopted by ECOWAS in 2014 to address transnational challenges affecting maritime security and economic development in the region.
“Faced with the threats of piracy, armed robbery at sea and illicit maritime activities, ECOWAS has decided to mobilize its resources and coordinate its efforts to secure its maritime space,” Iboki said in a statement received by APA on Thursday.
Ambassador Abdel-Fatau Musah, ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, recalled the strategic importance of the oceans to the region’s economy and environment, with 90 percent of international trade transiting by sea.
The theme of Exercise 2024, “Protecting the Blue Economy of ECOWAS Zone E through collaboration in Maritime Security,” is perfectly in line with the vision of our Community, he said.
Brigadier General Abdul-Baki Sanni Bachabi, representing the Minister of Defence of Benin, praised the commitment and determination of all those involved in the organization of this third Safe Domain operation.
This initiative draws on the support of several international partners, including the European Union through the GoGIN project, to strengthen the Community’s capacity to combat maritime insecurity in the region.
ARD/sf/ac/lb/GIK/APA